George M. Taber: A Self Portrait
George M. Taber Revealed
About George M. Taber
Revealing Questions
- Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
- A. learn, work, travel, write-then do it again
- Q. What is your motto or maxim?
- A. The art of writing is in rewriting.
- Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
- A. Happiness is knowing you've done your best--no more, no less.
- Q. What’s your greatest fear?
- A. Dying with a half-finished book.
- Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
- A. In Nepal hiking to the base station at Mount Everest.
- Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
- A. Jean Monnet. He is the father of the European Community, who made the historic breakthrough of bringing the French and Germans together after two world wars.
- Q. Which living person do you most admire?
- A. Bill Gates
- Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
- A. Never complain, never explain.
- Q. What do you regret most?
- A. Never finished Proust.
- Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
- A. Learn to play Bach on a harpsichord.
- Q. What is your greatest achievement?
- A. Interviewing the Beatles.
- Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
- A. Impatience
- Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
- A. St. Peter at the Pearly Gate
- Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
- A. I ask too many questions.
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
- A. Don Quixote
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
- A. Dr. Strangelove
- Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
- A. To meet God on the day after creation and ask her, "Why?"
- Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
- A. People who are not helpful, polite, or succinct.
- Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
- A. Watching the ocean's waves roll in.
- Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
- A. Sky diving
- Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
- A. Being helpful, polite, and succinct
- Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
- A. Pizza with pepperoni
- Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
- A. Hard Day's Night, Bach's Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould), Hello Dolly (Louis Armstrong), Vivaldi's Spring, Unforgettable (Nat King Cole)
On Books and Writing
- Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
- A. Child's Christmas in Wales
- Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
- A. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
- Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
- A. I enjoy the way you tell a story.
- Q. How did you come to write Judgment of Paris?
- A. I was the only journalist present that day and had to write the story for history.
